Give your garden a back-to-school wardrobe
You made it. After months of juggling a variety of activities and your own work schedule, the young ones head back to school on Tuesday and the summer is “over.”
Don’t you think you deserve a reward? I think you do.
Many wonderful plants come into their own and look great right about now. It’s almost as if your sedum knows that you deserve a break. And for the rest of the month, for that matter.
When we are not busy watching and playing with the kids, our attention often diverts to the natural features in our landscape.
My favourite back-to-school plants:
1. Butterfly bush (Buddleia)
This is the No. 1 butterfly magnet. The smell of it attracts myriad of the winged wonders and it blooms its head off for weeks. Look for blue, magnet, white and red blossoming plants that are hardy to Zone 6 and marginally hardy in my Zone 5 garden.
Often they freeze-off at the top but when I cut them back to the ground come spring, they sprout up from their root. If you lose your Butterfly bush over the winter, buy another one and think of it as an annual. They are that good!
2. Sedum spectabile
This flowering plant is like an old friend. Plant it in full sunshine and watch it bloom its head off until frost — up to eight weeks of blossoms. Butterflies and bees love it, too. You can cut the long stems of this plant and use them indoors in flower arrangements. Grows to about 60 centimetres high and wide. Hardy to Zone 3 (Winnipeg).
3. New England aster
We have the Canada goose; the Americans get New England aster. Most days I would trade them. As the name suggests, this is a great garden performer and it is native. Blooms in blue, white or magenta from about now into late October. Another butterfly magnet. Can grow to 1.2 metres tall but most garden cultivars are much shorter, about 40 to 50 centimetres. Also great for cutting to bring indoors. Hardy to Zone 4 (Ottawa/Montreal).
4. Joe Pye weed (eupatorium)
Not exactly a weed (why don’t they call mint “mint weed” — now, there’s a weed!) but it is one of the best perennial plants for attracting butterflies, hummingbirds and bees. Pollinators love Joe Pye because he is loaded with pollen. And the tall, flat-faced flowers are a perfect landing pad for butterflies. Look for rose/purple Baby Joe, which grows to about 70 centimetres, or the much taller cultivar Little Joe, which matures at 120 centimetres. You can cut Joe Pye weed for use indoors. Hardy to Zone 4.
5. Ornamental grasses
Many of these are just coming into their own and often look their best as we enter the colder, prewinter October and November months. Look for Maiden grass (Miscanthus), Northern Sea oats (Chasmanthium), Switch grass (Panicum virgatum) and Fountain grass (Pennisetum). All of them tend to attract small song birds while in seed, often right through the winter. For this reason, I wait until spring to cut mine down. They all need full sun to perform their best. Some are clumping and stay in one place while others travel by root or rhizome — be sure to ask when you buy ornamental grass, otherwise you could be importing an aggressive, longterm problem.
6. Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia)
This plant has been in bloom for a month or more already and will continue until the cows come home — or late October, whatever comes first. The longest possible blossom period is featured with Goldsturm, which is the gold standard of Rudbeckias. Irish Eyes will make you smile. Little Goldsta’ is a great fall performer. Hardy to Zone 4.
7. Japanese anemone
Not to be confused with the early spring anemone, these gorgeous white or blue bloomers are a terrific addition to the late-season garden. I have some growing just outside of my front door where they greet me with colour until the hard frost of late October in my Zone 5 garden. They do spread rather aggressively and each November I remove a huge portion of them with a sharp spade.
The kids are now being well looked after by education professionals. Turn to your garden, and enjoy your just rewards for getting them there in one piece.